Dental articulator



Sept. 30, 1952 l, G, NER 2,611,961

DENTAL ARTICULATOR Filed Sept. 29, 1950 WwW/amm Y ,JvJy.

Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATESl ATENT OFFICE l i v 2,611,961 I t DENTAL sitclIoULA'r0R,`

--Irwn G. Neer, Chicago, Ill. l f Application September'ZB, 1950, Serial No. 187,495

The present invention relates to improvements in dental articulators. l

In the making of dental bridgework to replace one or more teeth, it has been customary for dentists to employ temporary lmounting means for the upper and lower casts on which' the bridgework is constructed. This temporary mounting is known as an articulator, thepurpose of which isto enable adjustments to be made in contact between the upperand lower teeth as well as contact in teeth of the same order while out of the patients mouth.

Generally speaking they have consisted of two separate and usually hinged portions supported upon a suitable support, both 'of ythe portions rocally of each other. v

More recent practice, however, has been to ernjploy an articulator in which vone of the'supports for the casts is stationary and only the other one is hinged.

The present invention relates'primarily to that type of articulator in which the one portion is stationary, that is to say, is a base supporting upright supports, to which latter the other part of the articulator is suitably hinged.

In the articulators hitherto in use, it is almost invariably necessary rmly to secure the upper and the lower casts to the articulator so that there would be no likelihood of even aslight shift in the position thereof relative to each other, and therefore it was necessary to employ either a large number of the articulators, one for each of the sets of casts inprocess, or else to use great pains when re-mounting themlon or detents which are intended to vregister with corresponding openings in thesupporting me- 2 Claims. (Cl. 32-32) e5 an articulator for further adjustment or changes v dium in which casts are mounted, which supt porting means usually are some form of plaster oi. Paris, it is very diicult, if not substantially impossible, to re-assemble such a block of plaster of Paris in absolutely accurate alignment and position after it has once been removed from the metallic supporting structure of the articulator.

As it is frequently necessary to cut apart the plaster of Paris casts so as to do a certain amount of Work on the spaces between the individual teeth, it has been found necessary to devise some means so that such a block, when once cut apart, can subsequently be re-assembled with the absolute assurance ofy having the block return to the exact and precise position relative to the corresponding opposed cast so that the bite, when once adjusted,l will not subsequently be changed.

Accordingly it is one of the objects of the pres'-4 to each other that even if such a block be cut into two ormo're pieces, yet they could only be reassembled in the exact relationship in which thev projections extend on the original casting.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an articulator having a base containf` ing longitudinal, transverse, and also oblique grooves orchannels therein to serve for the above'v mentioned purposes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for hinging one of the supporting plates of the articulator in such a manner that if removed and subsequently replaced, itv

also will return to the exact position which it had previously occupied.`

Other objects 0f the invention willbecome ape' y parent Yfrom the further descriptionherein belowf` when considered inconnection with the accom-y panying drawing in which:

Fig. lis a perspective View of Vthe articulator constructed in accordance with-the presentv in-v vention;

Fis. 1; l,

Fig. 3 is a section through the articulator also showing aset of mounted `dentureswhichV latter for clarity ofl explanation are not'in section; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a part of the hinge structure taken `along the line 4--4 of Fig. l.

The articulator consists primarily of a base 5 which is rectangular in shape and which is provided with two transverse grooves 6 and 1, a longitudinal groove 8, and two diagonal grooves S and l0 which are so positioned that they will meet at the forward terminus of the longitudinal groove 8 forming a V, the apex of which is at the point Il. At the rearward ends of the base plate 5 there are two upright supports I2 and I3 which serve to support the hinge structure upon which the plate I 4, that serves to support the upper cast, is in turn mounted; the

said plate in accordance with well known practice being provided with one or more holes l5.

In order to mount the plate I4 upon the supports I2 and I3 there is provided a transversely extending hinge member IB which is journaled on 5 pivots I'I and I8 (see Figs. 1 and 3, as the pivot I1 is not visible in Fig. l, but is shown in Fig. 3).

The plate I4 is attachedto the hinge member I6 by aid of a screw I9, one end of which is permanently screwed into the Athreaded-opening V2i) .10 (see Fig. 3) leaving, lhowever, a considerable number of threads 2i free between the head of the screw and the portion which engages the threaded opening 20. A wing nut 22 threaded-m4. upon said threads 2l may be moved from abut- 15 ment with the head I9 to a point in which it mayer@ abut against the outside of thehinge member (6. The plate I4 is provided witha notch 23 which is of a size just to subtend the threaded portionicf.. .1 the screw I9 which lies between the face of the 20 wing` nutr22. andthadownwardlybent. portionld. M of the plateJA.- ,This; downwardly.V bent portion.zof thenplate .I4 is .provided/with...twosor morem.. openings..2.5, l.andthe hinge. membervl is pro-.-` vided with pins 2E which extend a short distancef..25 beyondthe hingernember I6. Y .These pinsi26.- are. intended,.,for accurate.engagement.withthe-holes.;.` 25 in therdownwardly.extendingportonsd of the plateJIl..

Therefore. when the notchff2'3is placedoverthe 30 threadsll of thescrew I-9andthe holes-25 are-..-. in engagementfwith the protruding fportionswof thel pins r26. andthe/thumb .screw- 2,2 thentight-WM ened,v the,.plateevvillv thus .be accurately ailixedto. the hinge memberri. .order to preventuthens hinge (membenrom :movingf beyond .a,- vertical position and also: therefore tov keep :the plateuM. ina substantiallwhorizontalpositions ai, stop .-21 is' provided, which may` take fthe. form .of .a:rod. that extends into and preferably througlntheupright -.40 supportsilZ yanrIS andV maybe suitably!.securedthereto, as -for exampleby screws 28.. l-

Thereforeithe. plate. 14 may-.serve -to supporta block otcementitious.materialffor examplecplas-y ter of Paris 29., lwhichccarries.theifmodelsor cast-.A5 30. This plaster of Paris :passes.,.throughethei openingsJSv in the plate I4 thus tightly locking. the,plate andithefblocldof plaster: of Parisintcc a singlennit,.which,-howeverr can. befswung about. the pivoting member Il of the.hingefrnember...l6 50 so as. to assume .the changedpositions indicated:-y in dottedlinesinFig.-

Resting upon the base plate 5 there is shown (in Fig. a block .of plastere of Paris .3| Whichesupports thesetof,teeth.3.2 lto be operated upon;F Particular` attention is directedl to .the.fact .that-r... when the lower plaster of Paris block 3| is resting upon thebase plate 5, some of the plaster.will. extend'-intothegrooves-'6; T, 8; 9' and .I0`, in the formof` outwardly"directed` elongated projections; `60

Now; if the dentist desires'to sawA thel block '3l into ltwo or more piecesV so as to obtain laccess to the spaces,:zior"instance-33 or MEHetWeen-the teeth, he can remove the block 3l from the base 5 and saw it apart, as for instance for making a wax pattern. He can then later re-assemble the block 3| on the base with the absolute assurance that the relative position of the teeth not only relative to each other on the cast 32 but also relative to the cast 30, will be exactly as it was before the removal of the block 3l and the cutting of it into parts.

This's due-to thev fact ztha'tLthere will only be one'possiblerway' of rie-assembling the block so that the projections thereon would fall back into position in the grooves on the base of the articulaltOr-; l

Thev 'articulator is preferably made of metal but of cdurse can-'be made of any other suitable material suchtasa suiiciently rigid or heavy material or even glass, stone or the like. As aforementionedmtheiprimary advantages of the present articulator lie in the accuracy of re-positioning bothtthenpperfas well asthe lower casts and the i means employed for permittingJhe-lowcrblock to be. .out apart and. Lthen .re-assembled .intciacf curate relativeposition.' W

` Accordinglyapplicantclaims;

1. A baselrfonan .articulator-Ycomprisinga rec-m. tangular...p1ate having a.deepllongitudinal.,cen.f.

trallyflocated. groovaetwd deep .paralleltransverse grooves.intersectingsaidlongitudinal groovefand twot deepdiagonalngroovesmeetingto formav. Y havingitsapex coincidental .with` onefend-fof` said longitudinal groove. each-ofthe diagonal grooves intersecting.-.said.. transversecgroovesand f terminatingat the sideseotithe -,plai'.e.y .i

l i2. In an articulatonmeans-foraccurately posi-vtioningua denture-model-supportingblock whichf comprise a hinge-member swinginglysupported i between,.twofvertical-` posta: outstanding proj ec- M tionsson one'sidaot saictihingefmember-,r-a screw Y extending.:fromsaidffhingeememher1in the same direction as said projections, and a plate having i Y a doWnwardly-edireotedangeffprovided with openingsinl engagementwith-said .projections and an openingwthrough rwhich-said screwpasses, aV nut-beingfthreaded-.on saidwscrew forV fastening the flange to saidfhngeemember.- t

IRWIN G: NEER;

REFERENCES LCITED f l The-following@ referencesifareof record'` in the 

